Raiden, Nirvaan take top-2 slots in Novice class at Sepang

Sepang, 26 July 2019: Indian kart racers from Team Rayo Racing, Raiden Samervel, and Nirvaan Chandna put up a fine show bagging first and second in the Novice Category of the fourth round of the AutoInc Asia Max Challenge 2019 at Sepang, Malaysia, last Sunday. Both teenagers participated in the Micro Max category and finished 12th and 13th overall, respectively.

Qualifying saw Timofey Mikhaylov grab overall pole position with a lap time of 55.141 seconds. Thirteen-year-old Nirvaan posted a lap time of 56.623 seconds, to emerge quickest in the Novice category. Teammate Raiden was a mere 7 hundredths of a second behind, with a lap time of 56.696, second out of the six novices on the grid.

The Heat 1 saw the two Indians start eleventh and twelfth and in a relatively straight forward race, Raiden managed to get ahead to finish ninth, one second ahead of Nirvaan in tenth.

Heat 2 proved to be a big setback for the weekend. The duo started well, with Nirvaan managing to move ahead. Unfortunately, he made contact with another racer ahead, launching his kart into the air and he landed in the path of Raiden. The two collided & fell right down the order to last & eventually finished at the tail end.

The finals had all racers start on the basis of their Pre Final result, which saw Raiden start eleventh, while Nirvaan started fourteenth. The very close & competitive mid grid meant that there was little the duo could do to move up the order. Although Raiden improved his lap time marginally he finished twelfth, 1.3 seconds ahead of Nirvaan in thirteenth. In the novice category, the duo was first and second, ahead of Eason.

“It was unfortunate that the incident in heat 2 played an important role, in them not being able to produce a good result in the final. I would have been happier if they could have translated their pace from practice into the races. However, considering that it is only their second race weekend at this level and that they outperformed all other novices, it is a credible performance.” said Steve Hodges, Technical Director of Rayo Racing, who accompanied the racers to Malaysia.

“Racing at the Asian Rotax at the 1.2km Sepang circuit in Malaysia was very exciting. I was up against the best and it was a great learning experience. Winning the Novice Category was a moment I will never forget!” said 12-year-old Raiden Samervel.

Nirvaan Chandna added “The race weekend was a good learning experience, especially driving on the Sepang international kart circuit, which is quite a fast track. Racing against so many racers from around Asia also taught me a lot. I intend to work harder and do better.”

“The two racers have been training hard. This exposure is good for them & I am confident there is a lot more to come from both racers” said Rayomand Banajee of Rayo Racing.